Peerless Street Bridge project waiting on shared agreement

June 21, 2014

BROCTON - Good news was announced regarding the Peerless Street Bridge project at Portland's Town Council meeting Wednesday. However, the project may experience a short delay in getting fully constructed.

Town Supervisor Dan Schrantz told council members that in discussions with the county executive and county public facilities supervisor George Spanos, a potential intermunicipal agreement is in the works, allowing the town and village to benefit from county resources as part of the project.

"I've talked with the county about how they can help us get the footer, and they're willing to put it in and use their equipment. The only problem is we can't say when, and they can't give us a definite date. They would order all of the rebar and have it ready so that we could utilize a shared service agreement. At no cost, it's a no-brainer. While there will be a little bit of a delay, I think this is a great joint project between the county, town and village," stated Schrantz.

"They suggested bidding out the bridge with the stipulation that it would arrive in 2015," he added.

The project engineer will be calling contractors to ensure materials are on order and can wait to be installed as soon as the bridge site is ready, according to the supervisor.

In other matters, Highway Supervisor Ron Delcamp forewarned council members that it may be time to begin thinking of options to purchase sand for use on winter roads.

With its current supply, the town has enough to make it to 2016, but as Delcamp reminded the council members, "It's going to be kind of expensive to start hauling materials."

The town supervisor also updated council members that wage negotiations are scheduled to open January 1, 2015 for town employees that are part of the CSEA labor contract. He also added that employees can expect big changes in health insurance coverage this year, which will be discussed as new plans are set to go into effect.

Councilman Jerry Boltz noted that the Brad Anderson Recognition Committee will be meeting next on June 24 at 6:30 p.m. and Councilman Al Valentin announced Brocton/Portland Historical Museum hours will run until Aug. 23 this season.